Hemlock-killing insect found in area

Infested trees will be destroyed in southwestern Berrien County.

April 07, 2012|By LOU MUMFORD | South Bend Tribune

Hemlock woolly adelgid.

Just the name sounds foreboding. Referred to by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development simply as HWA, it indeed is something you don't want around but, for the first time, it has shown up in Berrien County.

MDARD recently announced that an alert landscaper spotted the small, aphidlike insect in New Buffalo. After reporting his suspicions to the state Department of Natural Resources, it informed MDARD and a survey of hemlock trees within a half mile of the landscaper's discovery revealed a second infestation.

Officials said the area of concern is bounded by South Red Arrow Highway to the east, Lake Michigan to the west, Townline Avenue to the north and, to the south, a line running between the intersection of Arbor and Marquette Drive and intersection of U.S. 12 and South Red Arrow.

At minimum, infested trees will be removed and destroyed, MDARD said in a prepared statement, and hemlock trees in the area surrounding the infested trees will be treated with insecticide.

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MDARD officials said the result would be devastating should the infestation be allowed to spread. Native to eastern Asia, HWA was discovered in 1951 in Virginia, they reported, and has since spread from Georgia to Maine, decimating hemlock stands across much of the eastern United States.

John Bedford, an MDARD pest response program specialist, said in a video posted on YouTube that heavy infestations kill trees in as little as four years. Also, Gina Alessandri, MDARD's pesticide and plant pest management division director, said the state's more than 100 million hemlock trees provide valuable habitat for wildlife.

"These trees are critical to the ecology and aesthetics of Michigan's northern forests,'' she said. "These detections underscore the importance of citizen involvement in exotic pest detection.''

The insects show up as small, cottonlike masses on the underside of branches where needles attach to twigs. The decimation results from their use of long, siphoning mouth parts to extract sap from the trees.

Officials warned that residents or visitors to the area where HWA has been detected need to be aware hemlock trees and materials should not be removed, nor should new hemlock trees be introduced.

More information can be found at http://www.michigan.gov/ exoticpests. The toll-free number to report possible HWA is 800-292-3939.